Leverage: Wizarding Branch
by Poseidonschild
Summary: At eight years old, Harry gets a new family and they teach him a few tricks about survival and playing the game. When his destiny finally catches up with him, can the wizarding world handle his unique beliefs and scewed way of thinking? AU of the Goblet of Fire.
1. Chapter 1

It was quiet. Sure there was the expected ambient noise in the back-round of the distant town center, to far to identify sounds specifically, but close enough for it to create a subtle hum. In the closer vicinity however, there was very little to hear - the buz of the street lamp as it flickered in and out, the shuffling of leaves as a soft breeze passed through, the cackling of a witch as the halloween gimick sprang to life at a passing cat. So, for the suburban neighborhood it was quiet - relatively speaking.

"How are we doing, Parker?"

"I'm in," Parker whispered back.

"Two minutes."

"Got it." Parker moved away from the living room window toward the study at the back of the house, pausing only for a moment at the base of the stairs to listen for any sign of movement. Once in the study it was quick work to move to the wall behind the desk and remove the painting. "It's a Gardall, combination and key lock. It's like people want us to steal their secrets," Parker scoffed before pressing her ear to the safe and began turning the dial. "I don't even have to try. I could do this in my sleep," she grumbled.

"I'll make sure you have a real challenge next time Parker," Nate assured.

"Really?" Parker perked up, temporarily forgetting about the safe. "Cause I was thinking that we could have a go at the steranko again. I …"

"Just hurry up Parker," a gruff voice cackled over the coms in demand.

"Fine," Parker sniffed and began to fiddle with the dial again. "Combination's done," she announced as she began to seduce the key lock. The soft click came a moment later and the door popped open. "I got the files."

"Alright, get out of there," Nate ordered.

Parker shoved the files into the bag and headed toward her exit when a soft creek made her freeze. A second later she was pressed against the wall behind the study door looking out into the hallway through the crack. By aid of the moonlight and street lamps she watched as the cupboard door under the stairs slowly opened. A head popped out, the head twisted so it was listening to any noise coming from upstairs. When none came, a body followed the head, and then a pair of legs. Parker watched as the boy, because the person was quiet clearly a boy of maybe five or six judging by his size, tiptoed down the hallway and then into the kitchen his eyes and ears always on the stairs. As soon as she saw the lights flicker on in the kitchen she moved out of the study and toward her exit point pausing at the cupboard under the stairs. _What had the kid been doing under there?_

"Everything alright Parker?" Nate asked.

"Just give me a moment," she whispered back. A quick glance over her shoulder assured her that she had not been heard. "I just want to check something out."

"Parker…" Nate began, the warning in his voice clear.

"Just three seconds," Parker snapped quietly. She pulled open the cupboard door and ducked inside. Until that moment she had been assuming that the little cupboard had been built into one of those make shift forts she had heard that kids liked to build. Seeing the crayon sign above the dirty mattress and pathetic excuse for a blanket caused her to rethink that idea. The sound of a refrigerator door shutting brought her out of her musing. Pulling out her phone she took a couple quick pictures and then hurried toward her exit never making a sound.

Parker jogged down and over a couple of blocks where there was a local grocery mart and a black van hanging out in the parking lot. The moment she opened the back door she was bombarded with commentary.

"About time," Elliot grumbled.

"Did you get the files?" Hardison asked.

"Yeah," she said pulling them out of her bag and tossing them to him. "I also got something else."

"What else could be in the safe?" Hardison asked suspiciously while Nate raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"It turns out that Dursley isn't just embezzling funds from his company," Parker announced as she pulled out her phone and pulled up the picture she had taken. She handed it to Nate.

"It's some kids bedroom - Harry's according to the sign," Nate frowned.

"Give me a moment," Hardison demanded as he began typing away on his computer.

Elliot pulled the phone out of Nate's hands. "This family is well off, even with out the embezzling," he growled already guessing where this was heading and not liking the direction this con was taking.

"Yeah, well, it get's worse. That space is the cupboard under the stairs," Parker stated as she pulled her phone back and proceeded to forward the picture to their phones.

"So he's neglecting a child, probably abuse going on as well given his rage tendencies," Nate said leaning back in his seat with a frown on his face.

"Nate, if things start to go south, that child is going to be the first victim of his anger," Sophie announced speaking up for the first time. Nate nodded.

"Got it," Hardison announced. "His name is Harry James Potter. He's the nephew of Petunia, her sister's son. He's been with them for nine years. I can't find any records on how his parent's died, but they lived somewhere called Godric's Hallow. He was born July 31st, 1980, to James and Lily Potter. There's no records on the father and almost nothing on the mother. According to school records, Harry is a bit of a trouble maker. He's got a list of everything from pranks to fighting on this thing. He's anti social, no friends, he's a below average student. Hold on a moment … yeah just as I thought. His grades are just below his cousin. Almost always by just a few points."

"Well if there is neglect and abuse going on at his home he would need to take that frustration out elsewhere which explains the fights and misbehavior," Nate said, thinking out loud. "That, however, doesn't explain the lack of friends or why the teacher's haven't picked up on anything. Has anything been filed with children's protective services?"

Hardison hummed as he began tapping away on his keyboard. "That's odd," Hardison said suddenly as he read through the document's that had popped up on his screen. "There was a complaint filed by a teacher he had in first grade. The complaint was marked as investigated and closed, but there's none of the usual paperwork that goes with it. Nothing that says what his living conditions were like or anything. And check this out, the teacher who filed the complaint suddenly felt the need to move further south to Seaton two days after the complaint was filed as investigated. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I don't think Dursley has this kind of power. He can throw around his weight at the company, but in the world, the dude just has more enemies than allies."

"I agree, someone else is covering this up for Dursley," Nate concurred. "We know about the neglect, we need to find out about the abuse."

"Nate?" Sophie asked the longer question that was on everyone's mind not needing to be said.

"We go ahead with the original con, were just going to make certain that Dursely falls for child neglect and abuse as well. "

"Do I get to hit Dursley," Elliot demanded.

"Oh, I'm sure I can work that in the plan somewhere," Nate smirked. "Let's go steal us the Children's Protective Agency."


	2. Chapter 2

"Ready. Set. Go!"

Harry reached out and grabbed the nearest padlock and stuck his lock pick inside of it. A moment later he heard the click and reached for the next one. He tuned out the noise as he worked the locks focusing just on the problem and ignoring the distractions, like his Uncle Hardison trying to convince him he was doing it wrong, or Uncle Elliot trying to tell Hardison to shut up.

"DONE!" Nate shouted and he through his just unlocked lock on the table and looked up grinning at his opponent. The smile was wiped off his face as he noticed the pile of lock's his Aunt had made it through.

"Damnit," he frowned as Parker grinned cockily at him.

"Language, please," Sophie reprimanded as she smacked him softly on the back of the head. He scowled at her.

"Face it, you can never beat me. I am a safe cracking, lock breaking machine! Yeah!" Parker shouted with an arm pump and a high-five demand from Hardison who absolutely refused to encourage her by giving in.

Harry shook his head as he watched the two love birds bicker.

"Yeah, when do they leave exactly?" Nate asked turning to his wife with a look that said this was her fault.

Sophie returned it with a look that clearly said he would pay for that accusation later and how dare he find fault with having family over at the house. Nate hunched his shoulders, grabbed his coffee cup and moved into the kitchen to put as much space between him and his wife as was possible without looking like a coward. Judging by his Uncle Elliot's expression he wasn't fooled.

"They're only here for the weekend, then they'll be gone until Thanksgiving," Sophie announced looking at the three intruders fondly. Nate gave an annoyed sigh that was largely ignored. His dad liked his peace and quiet, but when Parker, Hardison, and Elliot were gone running leverage, it was a well-known secret that his dad would sit on the couch in front of the t.v. and spy on them through the cameras Hardison had hooked up in Leverage Headquarters. He was always worried about them.

A knock on the door interrupted the bickering between Hardison and Parker that Elliot had somehow managed to find a way to get involved in. Everyone turned to look at it as though it was the most bizarr event you could dream up. Elliot, Parker, and Hardison exchanged suspicious glances while Sophie and Nate exchanged shrugs before Nate moved to answer the door. It was pretty rare anyone was invited over to the house, and even stranger for that someone to come unexpectedly.

Nate jerked the door open revealing a man poised to knock again. There was an awkward pause before Nate spoke. "Can I help you?"

"Err...uh yes, I umm, I'm sorry to bother you," the man said in a quiet voice as his hand fell back to his side. His amber eyes flickered over Nate's shoulder meeting Elliot's gaze before flickering back. He was well dressed, even if the suit was a few years out of fashion and looked well-used. His face was shaved, but a scar ran across his cheek, his dark blond hair had been combed back, but a few pieces had worked their way forward to frame his face. He coughed in his shaking hand. "I am sorry to bother you, but you see I'm looking for someone. A boy. He'd be fourteen this year. He's got black hair, probably unmanageable like his father's. It was a mess even when he was a baby. He's got a lightening bolt scar on his forehead, above his left eye. He probably needs glasses, but he could have gotten his mom's eyesight instead. His name's Harry James Potter. He went missing six years ago. I've been looking ever since. Someone saw the picture and told me he went to school here. They gave me your name," the man's voice was cracking and he sounded absolutely desperate.

Nate looked over his shoulder at Elliot's narrowed eyes and then met his son's wide eyes. He nodded to Harry in assurance that everything was going to be fine, before turning back to the man in the doorway.

"Why are you looking for him? What's this boy to you?" Nate asked leaning against the door frame and lessening the view to the inside of his apartment.

"James Potter was one of my best friends, his son is the only family I have left in this world," the man pleaded.

"What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin," he answered. Nate could hear Hardison moving to the computer and begin tapping away at it.

"Have you been looking for him for six years?" Nate asked.

"No," Remus sighed. "When his Uncle got arrested I came back to the United Kingdom to see if I could see him before they placed him with a new family. When I arrived though, they said they only took custody of one child and that the other had run away just a few weeks previously and they were still looking for him. As the evidence against Dursley started piling up whispers started that Harry hadn't run away at all. After two years of no leads, I gave up and thought it was true," he whispered his eyes begging for understanding. "Wherever I went I kept an ear out, but nothing ever came of it."

"Did you know what this Dursley was doing?" Elliot demanded.

"What? No! I never would have left Harry there if I had known. I would have kidnapped him," Remus snarled defensively.

"How come you never visited the kid?" Nate reached back and put a calming hand on Elliot's arm, sensing that his temper was boiling.

"I wasn't allowed," Remus murmured looking down at his feet. "It was dark times. When James and Lily were killed they were in hiding. I woke up one morning to find out that one of the men that risked everything to be my friend was dead and his son was some how still alive, but I couldn't see him because he was being treated. The next day I went to the hospital demanding to see him only to find out that he had already been released and transferred to an undisclosed location that I wasn't allowed to know. Half-way through the next day I find out my other best friend had just murdered our other friend and took out twelve other's in the process while also being told that he was the only person who knew where the Potters had currently been hiding. I loss three brothers, a sister, and a nephew in one week. By the time I crawled out of my depression to realize that my nephew was still alive, he was already settle d in with his Aunt and Uncle. I applied for custody multiple times, but I was denied. I have a medical condition you see, it makes it hard to hold a job and Harry comes from one of the wealthiest families in the U. K. I never stood a chance."

"Nate I can't find a record of a Remus Lupin anywhere other than a birth certificate," Hardison whispered to him having come up behind him as Remus was talking. Nate studied the man across from him carefully. Not once in the whole time he had spoken did Nate notice any signs that he was lying.

"One last question, what made you start looking again?" Nate asked.

Remus tensed and his eyes shifted. "Something's … happened. Something that can only happen if Harry were alive. I can't say more. It's a matter of security and unless you're his guardians that's all I can tell you," he announced and Nate noticed that while the man was slender and looked like someone you could bulldoze right over, there was steel in his spine.

Nate looked over his shoulder at Sophie who nodded. He locked eyes with his son next. Harry's were filled with a mixture of fear and hope and a desperate need for those questions he had been asking to be answered. Nate swung the door open wider and stepped aside. "Alright, I believe you, come on in," he motioned. Elliot gave one last suspicious look before dragging Hardison back into the kitchen.

Remus entered hesitantly and followed Nate toward the back of the house where everyone else was. He was two thirds of the way there when his eyes landed on Harry and became as large as dinner plates.

"Harry," he whispered. He instinctively reached out with his hand before catching himself and shaking himself out of a mental fog. He studied the boy in front of him. He had waited fourteen years, fourteen long years, for this moment and now, he had no idea what to do. For years he had imagined what he would say to this boy - a dozen different apologies, a hundred explanations, but none of them seemed adequate for this moment here.

"So...You knew my parents," Harry said. He glanced at a woman who stood next to him with her arm around his shoulders, but Remus didn't mind. No, he had something to say now.

"Yes, we went to school together," Remus replied softly and tug at the corner of his lips let everyone know that they were happy memories to recall.

"Oh." Harry glanced at his feet his self-confidence abandoning him. He had thousands of questions about his birth parent's, but he had never imagined meeting someone who might be able to answer them.

"I'm not sure if you'll like hearing this," Remus said breaking the silence that had descended on the room. "But you look a great deal like your father. Just add some glasses and you could pull off being his double," Remus noted with a nervous chuckle. "Except the eyes. Those are quiet clearly your mother's."

"Dad had messy hair too?" Harry asked running a shaky hand through it.

This time Remus smiled fully. "He used to say that it was a Potter family curse. All male's had that bird's nest. He'd run his hand through it, say it was the tragedy of every Potter to have sexy windswept hair and then give the nearest female a cocky wink. Most girls just giggled, but your mother typically responded with something snarky, usually something about liking men who were well groomed."

Harry was smiling now as well. "What else can you tell me about them?"

"I got stories pouring out of my ears about your parent's, most of them about your father end in detention though," he said with a chuckle.

"Perhaps he can tell you those stories a little later Harry, I'm more interested in hearing the rest of his story, particularly the part that led you to our door step Remus," Nate said in a voice that while polite, left no room for mistaking that it was anything less than a command. Remus sobered quickly at that.

"Oh." He shot an uncertain glance at Harry. "I'm sorry to say this story involves your parents last moment's," he said apologetically his eyes gentle and begging for forgiveness.

"Why don't you have a seat," Sophie announced. "I'll make some tea. Nate, darling, why don't you make the introductions."

Nate gave Sophie an annoyed look before complying. "The bossy woman is my wife Sophie," he said with a smirk. Revenge was sweet, certainly, but judging by the look Sophie was giving Nate, there would be a lot of it handed out over the next few days. "This is Elliot, Hardison, and Parker."

"Well, have a seat," Nate said motioning to a chair at the table.

Remus sat down across from Nate. Harry, he found interestingly enough, chose to sit next to Parker, while Elliot chose the seat that separated Nate and Remus. Hardison flanked Parker and Harry by sitting on a barstool he pulled up with a computer in his lap.

Remus took a deep steadying breath and began.


End file.
